Moving black-and-white photos capture the devastation of the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940… from shipwrecks marooned on the beach to mounds of rubble in the streets
Haunting photos which capture the trail of devastation left in the wake of the Dunkirk evacuation have been unearthed after 77 years.
The poignant pictures were taken not long after 330,000 Allied troops had been rescued from the beaches by an armada of little ships having been defeated by the Germans.
The epic operation is about to be the subject of the new Hollywood blockbuster movie Dunkirk which stars Tom Hardy and Harry Styles and is due for release on July 21.
The black and white snaps show German soldiers surveying the wreckage of destroyed ships lying in the surf.
There is one image of two grinning officers stood in front of a fleet of burnt-out British army trucks which would have been used to off-load the thousands of the retreating troops days before.
Other pictures highlight the sand strewn with mechanical debris and a soldier walking past the axle and wheels of a large military vehicle destroyed by the German guns.
There are also several photos showing the extensive damage caused to seafront buildings in Dunkirk and the neighbouring Belgian towns of Ostend and La Panne.
And one grim image of the body of a dead British soldier washed up on the beach is also in the album.
THE DUNKIRK EVACUATION
- The Dunkirk evacuation in June 1940 came about as a result of the German Blitzkreig in the Second World War.
- The French and British armies could not stop the fierce German advance and were squeezed back to the beaches around Dunkirk on the France/Belgium border.
- The 330,000 trapped men were a sitting target for the Germans so Operation Dynamo was formulated to get as many men off the beaches as possible.
- Private ships and boats left ports and harbours around south east England to reach Dunkirk and rescue the soldiers from the beach.
- Despite sporadic attacks from German planes, Adolf Hitler failed to order a full-scale attack on the beaches despite his Panzer tank crews primed and ready to annihilate the enemy.
The apocalyptic scenes will be portrayed in Dunkirk, which has been produced and directed by Christopher Nolan and will tell the story of Operation Dynamo from three perspectives of land, sea and air.
Mystery surrounds who took the photos, but it is likely that they were captured by a German soldier.
They have now been consigned for sale in Dorchester, Dorset, by a private collector of militaria.
It is unclear how the album ended up in England but it is likely it was acquired towards the end of the war as a souvenier by a British solider.
It is thought it was owned by a Private E Davies who served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) - the women's branch of the army during the Second World War.
MOST READ IN LIVING
Hidden amongst the album is a tongue-in-cheek menu card for the Christmas dinner of 1943 enjoyed by the men and women of the 571 Mixed Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery.
The card has the stamp of the ATS on it and the name Pte E.O Davies with her service number.
The menu gives a nod to the lack of some food that was unavailable at the time due to rationing.
For example the menu starts with soup and written beneath it is brackets are the words 'not this time'.
There is also a greetings card sent with an image of two cats dressed as ATS women with the message 'W.A.T.S the use of worrying?'
Timothy Medhurst, of Duke's Auctioneers, said: "Pictures taken behind-enemy-lines during the war showing what was going on, especially after a battle, are quite rare to come up for auction.
"Although some of the pictures capture horrific scenes of damage and destruction, they provide a very important snapshot into the aftermath of one of the most pivotal battles of the war.
"Despite being defeated at the time, the Dunkirk evacuation was a triumph over adversity for the Allies and ensured that Britain lived to fight another day.
"With the renewed interest in the new Dunkirk movie that is about to come out we think there will be a lot of interest from collectors who can bid live on the sale."
In his memoirs, Field Marshall Rundstadt, the German commander-in-chief in France during the 1940 campaign, described Hitler's decision as his first fatal mistake of the war.
The album will be sold by Duke's on October 13 and is tipped to sale for £200.
A new film by Dark Knight Rises director Christoper Nolan is being released telling the story of Operation Dynamo, the attempted rescue of thousands of Allied forces who were cut off and surrounded by German troops in 1940.
The mission is one of the most incredible stories of World War II, which Winston Churchill described as turning a "colossal military disaster" into "a miracle of deliverance."
Dunkirk's big name cast includes Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh and Cillian Murphy.